


Swollen Summer

by afrocurl



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Memories, F/M, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-24
Updated: 2007-06-24
Packaged: 2018-02-13 11:31:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2149119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Logan wants to leave Neptune?  How does that work?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swollen Summer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moonheist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonheist/gifts), [wily_one24](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wily_one24/gifts).



> Thanks to [](http://starxd-sparrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**starxd_sparrow**](http://starxd-sparrow.livejournal.com/) for the beta. Written for [](http://everything-inme.livejournal.com/profile)[**everything_inme**](http://everything-inme.livejournal.com/) and [](http://wily-one24.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://wily-one24.livejournal.com/)**wily_one24** as birthday giftage. I'm only a month late, but it's the thought that counts, right?. At this point, all mistakes are my own.

Having officially decided that his summer was meant to suck, Logan looked around his room, trying to find some diversion. His television and Xbox were useless without someone else to play with most of the time, and the posters on his walls only made him want to flee Neptune for the crowded streets of New York City. Instead, a court order and summer school kept him in Neptune most days with only the occasional trip down to San Diego or Catalina to break up the monotony.

Sighing heavily, he rolled towards his phone and dialed. If his room wasn’t going to provide him any refuge, his girlfriend might.

“’Lo?” a female voice answered.

“What ya doin’?” he asked playfully, trying not to let his bad mood spoil his call.

“Nothing right now—dad’s on CNN again, so I’m sitting with Backup watching something else.”

“Sounds exciting. What if we went,” he paused, "out?”

“ _You_ want to go out? I thought the ‘razzi were still hounding you?”

“They are, but that doesn’t mean that I need to spend every Saturday stuck in my house without my girlfriend.”

She sighed into the phone before responding. “Dad left me his keys. I _could_ be persuaded to meet you in front of Luke’s house in half an hour.”

“Sounds like a date, sweetheart.” The phone clicked dead on the other end, and Logan grinned at the prospect of a lazy Saturday with Veronica.

-*-

Logan sat in Luke’s yard, twiddling his thumbs as he waited for Veronica to pull up in Keith’s midnight blue Taurus.

“Five dolla’?” Veronica yelled out the passenger window as he walked towards the car.

Scoffing, Logan replied, “I’m worth _so_ much more than five dollars. We’re not in Mexico, are we?” He looked up and down the street for added effect. “I don’t see any piñatas or creepy bars.”

Slapping his thigh to grab his attention once he’d entered the car, Veronica leaned across the center console to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Nope —unless the national GDP went up overnight and all of these houses are fronts for prostitution rings.” She turned her attention back to the steering wheel before finishing. “Where to?”

He tapped his chin for a moment, looking deep in thought.

“Time’s a wastin’, Logan. Where are we going today?” she asked impatiently.

“Somewhere where no one really cares who the fuck we are and….” He grumbled something else before he continued to mentally list cities in the area. “Why don’t we head east of LA? There’s some pretty small quiet towns along the ten if I remember correctly.”

“That’s vague, Logan. You want me to just drive around suburban LA looking for a place to hang out?” She huffed in frustration.

He put on a pout at her refusal. “Yes,” he mumbled, keeping his expression after in as perfect a pout as possible.

“Alright. We’ll go.” She shifted the car out of park and turned down the street. Moments later, she added, “You do need some time away.”

He nodded and said nothing else. Silence filled the car as she maneuvered her way from Luke’s house to the five. Logan tapped his fingers against the dash and the door in tune with the sound of “Somebody Told Me” wafted through the stereo. The tapping kept up as the song changed, but neither of them said a word.

His palpable anxiety gave Veronica pause. She decided that the silence was probably preferable to any conversation about why he wanted to get out of Neptune.

Veronica turned into the northern on ramp of the freeway. Logan said nothing as she merged into traffic and over a few lanes.

“So, how do you know about these towns?” she asked quietly, as if she was trying not to interrupt the mood they had created by their silence. They had managed to drive for fifteen minutes without speaking—something they’d never done before when not otherwise engaged in one of their cars.

“Long drives from LA to Palm Springs from when I was younger. We’d stop someplace before the fifteen for a break most times. I think I remember this one diner right off the freeway that served _huge_ portions.” His had gestured as if the plate could fill his entire lap.

“Oh,” she replied, not knowing how to handle the reminder of Aaron or Lynn right now.

“Yeah,” he said back. “Not every trip was a downer, so don’t worry.” He let out a small breath of contentment, before relaxing into the seat as he remembered happier days.

She nodded in agreement, and surveyed the road. “We’re almost to Dana Point. I’m not taking the five all the way into LA, right?”

“No, we’ll take—crap! I can’t remember the number of that freeway.” He ran his hand through hair in frustration.

“Don’t worry—there’s a map next to you,” she calmly stated.

Flipping pages muted the sound of the radio again, as Logan looked for a page of the map in Orange County.

Moments later, he clapped his hands together gleefully. “Found it!” he announced proudly.

“And it is...?”

“The fifty-seven. We’ll take the five just into Anaheim and take that over to the ten.”

“Then lead the way, Mr. Map” Veronica chirped as she looked for a sign indicating how far they still had on this road.

He grinned at the nickname, and looked further in the map for more directions.

“What ya doin’ now?” she asked a bit later, as he continued to look at the map.

“Trying to remember where that restaurant was.”

“You don’t remember the exit name?”

“I didn’t really pay attention too much, ‘Ronica. I was always in the back, and didn’t really look out the window much. There wasn’t too much around to admire, either.”

A confused look crossed her face. “But you do _know_ where we’re going?”

“Yup. It’s before the fifteen, and after the fifty-seven. There’s not too much in between.”

“Spoken like someone who never appreciates the suburbs,” she chided.

“I appreciate them. I live in one now, don’t I?”

“You do…but..” she didn’t quite know how to finish her statement.

“Out with it, Mars,” he demanded playfully.

“It’s just different from my experience, that’s all.”

He moved his left hand away from the map and slid his hand over to her leg. Squeezing gently, he said, “I know.”

“Thanks,” she said softly.

Logan just nodded and focused on the road in front of them.

-*-

As they drove over a large hill thirty minutes later, she noticed that there were signs for some other freeway going to LA.

“Not this one, right?” she asked, nodding at a sign for the sixty.

“Nope. But, according to the map, we’re getting closer to the ten.”

“Okay.”

The freeway, only a minute later, dumped into another one.

“Stay to the right; the fifty-seven comes back in a minute or two, according to the map.”

Nodding her understanding, Veronica looked out the window for another sign about the fifty-seven.

As she followed the signs and turned back onto the highway, she noticed a sign for Interstate ten.

“Going east?”

“Yes,” he supplied. “It shouldn’t be too far after we get onto the freeway. I think there was a big car dealership on the passenger side at the exit.”

“Oh, so now you remember something,” she retorted.

“Well, now that I’m back around here, yes. It’s pretty hard to miss if I remember correctly.”

Five miles after they merged onto the new freeway, they spotted a large car dealership. Quickly getting into the right lane, Veronica exited the freeway.

“Now where?”

“Left. The restaurant was north of the freeway.”

A red light at the bottom of the off-ramp kept them waiting for a moment before the Taurus headed north. Another light waited just as they passed under the highway.

Logan began to clap his hands wildly. “That’s it!” he exclaimed.

“That’s what?” she asked, not understanding his excitement.

“The restaurant,” he chirped while pointing to a single story white restaurant between just north of a gas station.

“ _This_ is where you ate?”

“Mom liked it—Dad just went along with it. It’s good, trust me.”

Veronica moved into the left turning lane at the next light. As she turned, she saw a parking lot behind the restaurant.

Pulling into the lot, she found a spot and turned off the car. Logan bounded out of the car, skipping towards the entrance.

“You’re far too happy about this, Logan.”

“So what…we’re out of Neptune. That’s reason enough to celebrate.”

She just laughed before catching up with him.

-*-

Logan’s shoulders were slumped when Veronica finally made it to the front door.

“What’s wrong, Logan?” she asked, rubbing his back.

“It’s closed,” he mumbled.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. They close at three.”

She looked down at her watch, noting that it was three-fifteen.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Veronica.”

“No, it’s not, Logan. We’re going to have fun.” She turned around quickly and pulled his arm.

“Where are we going?” he asked as she dragged him away from the door.

“While you were noticing the restaurant, I saw that the Claremont Colleges are here. There was also mention of something called ‘The Village;’ I’m sure we can find someplace to eat there.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh.”

She unlocked the doors of the car and got in.

Heading back out the way they came, she turned left, and headed north.

-*-

Fifteen minutes later, Veronica was navigating her way through the small downtown area of the city.

Noting that the area consisted of a few streets, they each asked about each restaurant as they drove past them.

Logan had vetoed the diner in the downtown, saying that it looked cheap, while also saying he wouldn’t eat pizza or Greek.

Veronica had said no to any of the restaurants with patio sitting, which left them looking at two restaurants near each other.

One, a chic looking Italian place, didn’t work well their jeans and tee-shirts, and so they settled on the smaller, set-back bistro.

The maitre d’ led them to a small table in the nearly empty room. A moment later, their waiter brought them each a glass of water before allowing them to fully peruse the menu.

Veronica looked down at the menu before giving Logan a shy grin.

“This looks nice,” she commented as she looked at the options for their dinner.

Logan nodded in the affirmative, still looking at his menu.

Veronica looked back at the pages, noticing Logan's dedicated perusal of his menu. She silently wished the waiter would return so she could speak again.

When the waiter finally reappeared, Veronica ordered a chicken burrito before Logan ordered the Thai Ginger Chicken, leaving the pair in silence again.

She coughed a moment later, bringing Logan out of his self-induced haze.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, Logan. This was supposed to be a fun day, and it just doesn’t seem like one,” she responded quietly.

He shrugged in response. “We got out of Neptune—that was the important part.”

“Oh,” she said, as realization dawned on her.

“Yeah.”

Veronica started to fiddle with her napkin, expelling her nervous energy at how badly the afternoon had gone.

“You can stop that. It’s fine, Veronica. I’m just happy to spend a day with you.”

She coyly moved her gaze away from his stare, and tried to focus on something else in the restaurant. Nothing worked, and a moment later she commented, “What do you want to do after dinner?”

“Dunno,” he replied.

“I think the colleges are over one block and up a bit. We could walk through them before we head back home,” she intoned.

Logan nodded his approval just as the waiter brought out their plates.

They ate in silence, enjoying the food and the simple pleasure of each other’s company.

-*-

Logan walked out of the bistro first, looking around the calm of the street in front of him. Veronica’s hand slid into his as she exited the building before she started to look up and down the street as well.

She tugged on his hand as she started to walk up the street and towards the colleges in town. He followed as she made her way to one intersection, looking both ways before she jogged across the small street in front of the post office.

He slowed her pace down, trying to take in the quaint look of this town. It was obvious to him that the town cared about the downtown, and especially how it fed into the campuses.

As they headed north again, the campus opened into a large quad. Set back from the street was a large building—something that they both assumed was a concert hall—and a few other academic buildings.

Logan stopped in front of the lawn, staring at the large opulent building behind it before falling gracefully onto the grass below.

“We’re stopping here?” Veronica asked.

“Do you see anyone around that’s going to catch us sitting here? This is just as good a place as anywhere else.” He patted the grass to his left, hoping that Veronica would join him.

After staring at him for a moment longer, Veronica followed his lead and crashed against the lush green grass.

Logan’s hands wrapped around her small waist, pulling her closer to him, before his fingers traced circles against the small of her back.

Small giggles escaped her lips before his found hers. Her mouth opened to his insistent tongue, and she was lost in the sensation of his body against hers.

Logan’s left hand continued to haphazardly draw against her back while his right deftly moved to palm one breast.

Logan’s hand caused Veronica to break their kiss, before a shocked expression appeared.

“What?” he asked.

“We’re still in plain daylight, Logan. I feel a bit,” she paused, “exposed.”

“Not any more exposed than we’ve been at Dog Beach, sweetie. It’s fine,” he breathed against her neck before sucking on her pulse point. He continued to lavish attention to her, while she fumbled to rake her hands through his hair and search for purchase against the grass.

She moved her neck away from his lips before she gently placed her lips against his. She bit down on his lower lip as her fingers worked their way beneath his shirt. As she continued to bite down, her hand fell down his torso, and she pushed her small hand under his shirt.

Fingers lightly raked over his abs and chest before she moved to caress his back.

Logan giggled through her kiss as she continued her playful assault against him before he followed suit and continued to tickle her back and breast.

Breaking for air momentarily, Logan smiled widely at his girlfriend before he placed an open-mouthed kiss against her clavicle. He moved his mouth up towards her ear, tugging gently on her lobe while he took her in perfume.

Logan registered Veronica pulling away, as he realized he was on his way to leaving a large hicky against her neck. He mumbled an apology into the nape of her neck before he returned to sucking another part of her sensitive skin. Veronica moaned in response, still searching for some way to occupy herself while Logan lavished her with attention.

Raking her hands through his hair again, Veronica sighed before hearing the crunching of footsteps near her. She half-said, half-whimpered Logan's name to get his attention, but that only spurred him on. Someone cleared their throat loudly from above them, and when Veronica looked up, a police officer loomed there.

“Excuse me,” he said, his eyebrow arched rather comically; it was clear he was trying to keep the amusement out of his stern voice and mien.

Veronica righted her shirt first before replying, “Yes, Officer?”

“Are you aware that you’re groping each other on a public lawn?”

“Yes, we are, sir,” Logan replied cheekily.

“Thank you both. Would you please stand up and follow me?”

“What seems to be the problem?” Veronica asked, scrambling to stand up.

“The city has a public decency ordinance. You two were in violation of it. I need to take you to the station.”

“Is that _really_ necessary, Officer?" Logan asked while he brushed the stray grass off his shirt.

“I’m afraid it is, son. Please follow me to the car.” The officer was motioning to a standard police car.

“Looks like we need to call Cliff,” Veronica whispered while they walked to the car.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Logan replied, before snaking his fingers through hers once again.


End file.
